PerreaultForever

I have not seen them play this year but it seems a lot of it has fallen apart. The Evander Kane cancer finally took hold?

Absolutely correct, because the system here is to just roll lines. We have no identity lines, we have no checking line, and the future seems to be locked on more offensive talent and no 2 way talent so the baffling plan continues. Granato is a terrible in game coach as well. He might have knowledge and he might be good developing young players but he is NOT a good head coach.

That was funny but it is kind of strange to me that the team has sentiment for anyone when they have set a record for most seasons with no playoffs. I always thought the first thing you do is say goodbye to EVERYONE from the past when you come in and clean house . But whatever, here they give them letters.

Not that baffling. Sabres do not make major adjustments or changes in style, suck on face offs, and Granato has no clue on line matching. Road teams coming in to our building play road style games with tighter checking and more defensive emphasis (in general) so it's not that we play all that much worse at home, just that the opposition teams play differently than they do at home, where they try to "entertain" more and tend to play more open and offensively oriented (again, in general). We do not handle physicality or adversity well and we are poorly coached in terms of game management and specific adjustments to match the specific opposition. We are clueless.

I would swap our 4th line for the Flyers in a heartbeat, and they aren't even the best 4th line in the league. Just an example of what a 4th line needs to be.

Well I guess I can't talk about red and black mojo any more. UPL fan club all go home early this time? I told you he wasn't that good last time and he was exactly the same this time but the Flyers clearly watched the video and saw the weaknesses. Shot to the corners and glove side and UPL is a disaster in that and always has been. I would assume word will travel and other teams will figure this out too. imo we were simply out coached. The two games were interesting because they are a contrast in styles. First game they skated more wide open and just tried to drive the net thinking that was the weak point. We blocked shots, UPL got a little lucky, they shot wildly, we made the most of opportunities and we won. This time they tightened up, clogged the middle, and won most of the one on one battles with simple basic physicality. Easy win for them. Good coaching adjustment. Granato just did the same as always. Fret not, Leafs will let us play wide open and we can beat them at their own game (unless goaltending sinks us). It's not the real way to beat the Leafs, who are a fairly easy team to keep to the outside (like us) but it gives us a bounce here or there coin toss kind of chance. Overall though we suck again, we are the same again, and although I can't fault Cozens frustration I'm not sure why he chose the second best fighter on that team. Did he think a guy like Hathaway would just accept the cross check? Wish we'd signed Hathaway instead of Okposo like I said in free agency but whatever. Krebs is a liability and has to go and apparently Samuelsson is made of glass. Won't make the playoffs AGAIN. That is all.

Ya, I think this is intentional. Canucks the biggest surprise so far this year? Seems like Tochet has them bought in. Leafs Bruins game was very good tonight. Bruins pulled it off with 3 AHL D call ups in the line up. Go figure.

I said at the time signing Okposo was a sentimental mistake. I got shot down for that idea to say the least but it's clear now, he should retire. Name Tuch captain please. Jost has been better than Krebs. Krebs learning curve definitely seems to have flattened or even hit a wall. I think we should go through a Rochester call up rotation until somebody sticks. Biro in the driver's seat at the moment. I would be happy if VO never wears a Sabres game jersey again.

Johnson and Greenway are working out that's for sure. It's also getting clear that Krebs isn't going to be very much. Face offs are horrendous. The D has tightened up. I wonder if that mantra came in with the back up (so to speak) goalie becoming the started goalie. Sort of a necessary thing to help him out. Happens on a lot of teams so I suspect we shifted to that as well. It should help long term. Also clear that Olofsson is going to Europe next year. All your dreams of trading him for something out the window. I'm surprised at how bad Clifton has been and am surprised by how decent Jokiharju has been. The rest is pretty much as expected.

E-Rod really wasn't a cast off but you have to hand it to that guy. He's a fringe player who moves around a lot but always seems to manage to find a good landing spot and he's carved out an NHL career on a specific but limited skill set. Good for him.

We did block more shots than we usually seem to do that is definitely true. I totally agree about his movement. He's just a big slow clunky body and I don't see that changing.

Ya, exactly, which is why I said it fits the classic "a win's a win" by definition. You take it and move on. But you can't keep playing like that or you will be in deep trouble.

I look at win percentage because it's simpler than considering who played how many games etc. Early season doesn't mean a lot, I agree, but come April, wasted opportunities in October/November can be what leaves you on the outside.

I only look at the win percentage. Right now 5 teams ahead of us in the division and ten in the conference. The 92 points means nothing.

Ya, like I explained, imo he was fine, he didn't do anything bad but we didn't win because of outstanding goaltending. We won because they can't shoot/score the way we can. Not a chance we beat a good team playing like we did. Not a chance.

No, read it again. I didn't say he was "not very good" but I didn't think he made a ton of great saves like some suggest either. A lot of Philly plays were scrambles near the goal and they shot wildly and off target and a lot of it was just hack desperation not tough skilled shots. Several times the net was wide open and they just didn't follow through. They drive the net but they don't shoot well so a big body guy (any big body guy) is really all you need. Now on another night they get luck and bounces and they hack in 6 or 7 on him in the exact same game. So to sum, UPL wasn't bad by any means, but he didn't have to be actually good.

Outshot 40-15 do you think we played well?

Well ya, that's fair, but if Mitts becomes your 2C and Cozens your shutdown then Cozens becomes the overpaid guy in that equation. If the cap keeps going up a lot it's fine but who knows. For all we know covid send us into another lockdown next year. Cozens also has to show that he's that guy which at the moment he isn't. He's kind of in between those 2 roles so maybe the coaches have to decide what he is and stick with it. So idk but after this Philly game I see that 4th line of theirs giving us fits and I'm kind of set on the idea that that's what we need on the bottom end. How the third line shakes out over time is still up in the air. We will see, but Mitts is likely going to make this a difficult decision for KA.

So not generational then just tiresome. My ex wife loved them. Probably why I don't. 🙂

Well that one goes down as a classic "a win's a win" imo. Outshot like 40-15, outplayed, outworked, but their lack of talent and thus lack of finish was in evidence and conversely we scored on the limited opportunities we had. I am going to swim against the current here and say I don't think UPL was all that good, I just think the Flyers don't know how to put the puck in the net. Win's a win.

you guys and your gif/meme obsessions. I guess it's a generational thing but I find their constant overuse tiresome.

Pissed off owner, somebody had to take the fall. I'd say his resume is mixed, but there were a couple big mistakes so it's a reasonable decision. Chiarelli would be a mistake imo but he also might have learned from his past errors, you never know. Will be interesting to see which direction they take.

ha ha but wtf are you talking about? I didn't dodge anything. Cut to the chase, Mitts at 7 million with term would be a colossal mistake imo. Agree or disagree rather than snipe for your self gratification and feelings of worth.

No, you don't have my position quite right. Yes, I approved of what Ottawa and Detroit did vs. what we did because they spent money to fill immediate need holes while we just stayed the course. In terms of cap numbers they aren't that much higher than we are really. The issue isn't the spending (you should ALWAYS spend to the cap) but in when the contracts come off the books. Guys like Tarasenko, Perron, Gostisbehere, all are temporary fixes and the money is free after. There's no issue there. They are better teams with those players added, and those players do not affect their long term cap when they need more money for their prospects and ELC guys. No, I'm definitely not worried about next year. I do worry about giving Mitts $7 million though. For me, we have Cozens and Thompson as our top two centers on contracts that will age exceptionally well if they play like top line centers. Stylistically if you want a points producer as 3C okay Mitts, but I'd rather we had a shut down guy in that role. So Mitts at 4-5 I have little issue with but I'd rather have a ROR or Coyle or Danault type all of whom are in that 5 million range. The make up of this team is too one dimensional, and if you keep paying that one dimension you will have no money for the checking/defensive side to be added, much like the Leafs (for example).

Maybe, but Malkin helped win them cups. Mitts hasn't gotten us to the playoffs yet. No comparison.